"This place is a pigsty. How can you possibly live like this?" Owen asked as he walked into the living room.
"If you don't like it, you're welcome to leave. You're the one who's always hanging around"
"Hold on, Yang! Don't let the pressure get to you. Remember I'm here to help". Owen carefully put two cups of coffee down on the table and started picking up papers and flashcards from the couch in order to make room to sit down.
"I'm sorry, let me get that"
"That's okay, I've got. So, how can I be of assistance?"
In response Cristina only grunted. She had been going over her biology notes. What on earth possessed her to take Introduction to Neuroscience. If she was going to become a surgeon, neuro was definitely not what she was going to specialize in.
"My brain hurts!"
Owen gave her a sympathetic smile: "I would suggest taking a break but I'm guessing what the answer will be."
"You know me too well. Pass me the coffee. This is my third cup this afternoon but I'm still having a hard time remembering—UGH! What is this? Are you trying to poison me, Hunt?"
"What? Does it taste bad?"
"Well let's just say I don't see you becoming a barista. Doesn't really matter, I actually do need to stretch my legs. Let's go get real coffee."
Cristina put her flip flops on and grabbed her keys from her jacket pocket. She was feeling especially lazy today so she was wearing her favourite sweatpants and a dark blue shirt. She didn't even bother with makeup. Just as Cristina was locking the door behind them, Stacy ran up and threw herself into Owen's arms.
"Hey, babe. I feel like I haven't seen you forever." Stacy squealed as she kissed her boyfriend passionately.
"Yeah, nice to see you too, Stace. Good to know that invisibility potion worked." Cristina said.
"Sorry about that," Stacy responded when she finally pulled away. "Owen, I can't believe you managed to get her out of that room. How did you do it?"
"I have my ways." He replied with a smile. "Let's just say I can make really bad coffee when I want to."
Stacy didn't understand what he was referring to, but Cristina quickly understood she had been tricked: "You little… I can't believe it." She quickly stomped of, pretending to be angry. Her friends caught up and together they walked the two blocks to the nearest coffee shop. On the way, Owen filled Stacy in on what she had missed and in return she told them all about a party she had been to a few nights ago.
Owen had to get to a lecture so he left shortly after they had bought there coffees.
"Bye Stacy, I'll call you later. Yang," he said as he turned to the other girl, "good luck tomorrow."
"Thanks for the help. I really appreciate it."
"What's this? A thank you from Cristina Yang? I cannot believe my ears."
"Ughh, just leave before I throw something at you." Owen just smiled before heading out the door.
The two girls were sitting at one of the back tables and each of them was sipping their drinks. Stacy was the first one to speak. Well, she was always the first one to speak.
"So I see that you and Owen are getting along. I thought you hated him?"
"He's ok. We've been hanging out."
"I know. I'm actually jealous. You get to spend more time with him than I do."
Cristina wasn't exactly sure how she should respond so instead she decided to take another sip of her coffee.
Stacy continued, "Can I tell you something? You're my best friend and you have to promise not to judge me."
"Okay…This sounds intriguing. Shoot"
"I kissed someone else"
"You did what?"
"Hey! I said no judging!"
Cristina tried to calm her voice, realizing that she was yelling: "I wasn't judging you, Stace, I was just surprised. Why would you do something so stupid? I thought you and Owen were happy."
"I thought so too. I didn't plan it, it just happened. I was a bit drunk and this guy began flirting with me and things got a bit out of control." Stacy admitted.
"Well did you… sleep with him?"
"NO! Of course I didn't sleep with him. What kind of person do you think I am?"
"I was just asking." Her friend said quietly.
There was a period of silence while Cristina tried to comprehend the information she was just given. She felt sorry for Owen, because he didn't know any of this was happening. She felt sorry for Stacy because she was confused and wasn't even sure what she was feeling. She even felt a bit relieved for some reason.
Finally Cristina spoke up: "You need to tell him. He deserves to know."
"I know but I don't know how to. He'll hate me" Stacy was obviously scared.
"Trust me he won't. He's a good person. But if you ever tell him I said that I will come after you"
Her roommate finally smiled: "You have a weird relationship."
"Tell me about it."
When Cristina walked out of the classroom after her exam the next morning she was surprised to see Owen waiting for her. He smiled when he saw her and handed her travel mug full of coffee.
"Hey! What are you doing here?" Cristina inquired.
"Well, I thought you could use some fun after the exam and Stacy told me bring you your mug this morning."
"So you slept over?"
"Yes, why?"
"Did you sleepover or sleep over?"
Owen's face turned red. He could talk to Cristina about anything but he felt extremely uncomfortable discussing his relationship with her.
"Okay, got it. So you and Stacy didn't talk about anything?"
By Owen's confused expression, the girl guessed that Stacy hadn't told him about the kiss. Crap. Was Cristina supposed to tell him? The situation sucked. She couldn't not tell Owen what she knew; that would be the same as lying to him. But she also couldn't betray Stacy's trust. This was something she was supposed to do herself. Cristina had to get away before she said or did something she would later regret.
"Thanks, Hunt. For the coffee." Cristina muttered, backing away slowly. "But I have to go. I have… a thing. I'll see you." And with that she fully turned and began half-walking, half-running, leaving Owen staring after her perplexed. What had just happened?